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On Tuesday night, the West Virginia Mountaineers improved to 8-4 on the season after defeating Rider in comeback fashion.
In the first inning, both teams got a hit, but neither team could get a runner across the plate.
In the second inning, Rider took an early advantage. A walk and a single put men on first and second base, and Jack Winsett drove home a run on an RBI single to give Rider a 1-0 lead. WVU starting pitcher Tyler Strechay gave up another single in the inning, but the runner was held at third base, and the Mountaineers got out of the inning.Â
With Rider leading 1-0, the Mountaineers got to work in the bottom of the second. Grant Hussey started the inning with a long double to right center field that just missed being a home run. On the next at-bat, Mikey Kluska doubled down the left field line to bring in Hussey and tie the game 1-1.
Kluska ran into an out at third base, and Rider took care of the next two WVU hitters to keep the game tied after two innings.
In the bottom of the third, Austin David led off the inning with a single. Davis stole second base and advanced to third base on a throwing error. With two outs, McGwire Holbrook doubled to score Davis and give WVU a 2-1 lead.
During the middle innings of the game, both teams struggled at the plate as the game became pitchers’ duel. Both teams registered a hit in both the fourth and fifth innings, but nothing materialized.
Throughout the middle innings, WVU’s bullpen stepped up. Will Watson worked for an inning and a third and gave up no runs with one hit allowed. Trent Hogdon relieved Watson and gave up no runs and only one hit across two innings.
In the seventh inning, Rider finally broke through. The inning started with a throwing error by JJ Wetherholt that put a runner on first. After the error, Jordan Erbe reached on an infield single to put men on first and second. After the single by Erbe, Socrates Bardatsos singled to center field but it did not bring home a run.
With the bases loaded and nobody out, Rider tied the game at 2-2 when John Volpe brought home a run on an RBI fielder’s choice. On the next at-bat, Brian Skettini brought home a run on a sacrifice fly to center field to give the Broncs a 3-2 lead. After the sacrifice fly, Brendan O’Donnell singled to extend the lead to 4-2.Â
In the bottom of the seventh, WVU threatened to cut into the Rider lead. With a man on first with two outs, Austin Davis hit a single into right center field. The ball was close to going into the gap, but it was cut off nicely by Rider’s Brendan O’Donnell. Davis tried to stretch the single into a double, but was thrown out by a strong throw from O’Donnell.
In the bottom of the eighth, WVU threatened again. JJ Wetherholt singled to start the inning and Victor Scott walked on the next at-bat. After the walk, McGwire Holbrook singled to load the bases with no outs.
Grant Hussey came to the plate and drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to make it a 4-3 game. WVU tied the game on the next at-bat with a close play at the plate. Mikey Kluska hit the ball to first base, and the throw came home, but Victor Scott slid under the catcher’s tag to tie the game 4-4. Rider escaped any more damage, and the game went to the ninth inning tied 4-4.
After pitching a scoreless eighth inning, WVU’s Jacob Watters came back out in the ninth inning and got the job done. Watters gave up a single with two outs but didn’t allow Rider to get anything else done.
In the bottom of the ninth, the WVU hitters were retired in order. Both Alex Kahn and JJ Wetherholt gave the ball a ride into the outfield, but neither could find a gap to get a base hit.
In the top of the tenth, Rider did not get a runner on base, and the game headed to the bottom of the tenth inning still tied at 4-4.
With one out, pinch hitter Evan Smith walked to put a runner on first base for Grant Hussey. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Hussey belted a ball into the right-center field gap to bring Smith home for the game winning run. The Mountaineers won the game in walk-off fashion by a score of 5-4.
Hussey spoke on what it meant to be the guy to get the game-winning hit.
“It’s cool,” Hussey said. “It’s a team effort. Evan Smith had a nice at-bat before, got the momentum rolling, and I just kept it going.”
The Mountaineers will be back in action on Friday when they take on Ohio State at home at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN+
Photo by Dale Sparks.
